America’s death penalty divide: why capital punishment is getting better, and worse

More than half of the states in the US have either abolished the death penalty or have formal suspensions in place, as the country’s use of the brutal punishment continues to wither on the vine.

When Virginia became the first southern state to scrap capital punishment in March, it raised to 23 the number of states that have abolished the practice outright. In a further three states, governors have imposed a moratorium on executions.

Virginia’s seismic shift away from judicial killings has created a death penalty-free zone on the north-east seaboard of the US...